14.04 does not work

[Mrnumber3isme]

Okay. I'd been using 12.04 ever since about august of '12. everything was going great, but I'd upgraded to the LTS every other cycle (10.04, 8.04, 6.04) since '06, so I was due to upgrade to 14.04. One major hurdle I face is that my internal dvd drive failed about a year ago. I get by with an external drive, but my bios does not support booting from external drives. Soooooooooo my only remaining options are the upgrade from 12.04 or USB install. my machine was getting bogged down with games I'd downloaded, and either didn't work right, or I just refused to play, and other random stuff I didn't really need, so a reformat was in order. First, I used unetbootin to create a bootable usb of ubuntu 14.04 AMD64, and installed. Install went smoothly, until it came time to restart. got the error

Warning! Dev/disk/by-uuid XXXXXXX does not exist!
dropping to a shell.

Went through some other fixes that involved booting from live usb, and re-installing grub with an updated kernel. That worked well enough, except for heavy glitching in the graphics. I figured that might just be from using Xorg's Nvidia driver, so I tried to switch, and the system became entirely unresponsive. after much work, I decided to try the install again, but with ubuntu's built in startup disk creator instead. graphics errors were still present, but nowhere near as bad. again though, after shutting down the computer, and restarting, I got the same error as before. another "fix" told me to go in, and edit fstab to show the drive as its SDA listing, instead of its uuid identifier. didn't work. the computer still boots, thinking it is looking for the uuid (Which I've already verified DOES exist) instead of the SDA listing. I've redownloaded the image from the same source, no luck. tried from other sources, no luck. just for giggles, I tried the i386 image. still no luck. I've looked at the known bugs page for 14.04, and noticed that Xubuntu has no known issues at the moment, so i'm about to try that. any other thoughts would be most appreciated, since I'm literally just a couple more errors away from punching a hole through my screen.

[Mrnumber3isme]

My download sources:
www.Distrowatch.com (http://www.Distrowatch.com)
www.cdimage.ubuntu.com (http://www.cdimage.ubuntu.com)
Http://kickass.to

My system:
HP DV9700 (HP Pavilion Entertainment PC)
4 gigabytes RAM
AMD Turion 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL-60 × 2
250 gigabyte hard drive

Output of lspci -v

ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ lspci -v
00:00.0 RAM memory: NVIDIA Corporation MCP67 Memory Controller (rev a2)
Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device 30cf
Flags: bus master, 66MHz, fast devsel, latency 0
Capabilities: <access denied>

00:01.0 ISA bridge: NVIDIA Corporation MCP67 ISA Bridge (rev a2)
Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device 30cf
Flags: bus master, 66MHz, fast devsel, latency 0

00:01.1 SMBus: NVIDIA Corporation MCP67 SMBus (rev a2)
Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device 30cf
Flags: 66MHz, fast devsel, IRQ 10
I/O ports at 3080 [size=64]
I/O ports at 3040 [size=64]
I/O ports at 3000 [size=64]
Capabilities: <access denied>
Kernel driver in use: nForce2_smbus
Kernel modules: i2c-nforce2

00:01.2 RAM memory: NVIDIA Corporation MCP67 Memory Controller (rev a2)
Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device 30cf
Flags: 66MHz, fast devsel

00:01.3 Co-processor: NVIDIA Corporation MCP67 Co-processor (rev a2)
Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device 30cf
Flags: bus master, 66MHz, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 11
Memory at f6200000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=512K]

00:02.0 USB controller: NVIDIA Corporation MCP67 OHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev a2) (prog-if 10 [OHCI])
Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device 30cf
Flags: bus master, 66MHz, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 18
Memory at f6486000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4K]
Capabilities: <access denied>
Kernel driver in use: ohci_hcd

00:02.1 USB controller: NVIDIA Corporation MCP67 EHCI USB 2.0 Controller (rev a2) (prog-if 20 [EHCI])
Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device 30cf
Flags: bus master, 66MHz, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 22
Memory at f6489000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=256]
Capabilities: <access denied>
Kernel driver in use: ehci_hcd

00:04.0 USB controller: NVIDIA Corporation MCP67 OHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev a2) (prog-if 10 [OHCI])
Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device 30cf
Flags: bus master, 66MHz, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 18
Memory at f6487000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4K]
Capabilities: <access denied>
Kernel driver in use: ohci_hcd

00:04.1 USB controller: NVIDIA Corporation MCP67 EHCI USB 2.0 Controller (rev a2) (prog-if 20 [EHCI])
Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device 30cf
Flags: bus master, 66MHz, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 22
Memory at f6489400 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=256]
Capabilities: <access denied>
Kernel driver in use: ehci_hcd

00:06.0 IDE interface: NVIDIA Corporation MCP67 IDE Controller (rev a1) (prog-if 8a [Master SecP PriP])
Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device 30cf
Flags: bus master, 66MHz, fast devsel, latency 0
[virtual] Memory at 000001f0 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=8]
[virtual] Memory at 000003f0 (type 3, non-prefetchable) [size=1]
[virtual] Memory at 00000170 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=8]
[virtual] Memory at 00000370 (type 3, non-prefetchable) [size=1]
I/O ports at 30c0 [size=16]
Capabilities: <access denied>
Kernel driver in use: pata_amd
Kernel modules: pata_amd

00:07.0 Audio device: NVIDIA Corporation MCP67 High Definition Audio (rev a1)
Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device 30cf
Flags: bus master, 66MHz, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 21
Memory at f6480000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16K]
Capabilities: <access denied>
Kernel driver in use: snd_hda_intel
Kernel modules: snd-hda-intel

00:08.0 PCI bridge: NVIDIA Corporation MCP67 PCI Bridge (rev a2) (prog-if 01 [Subtractive decode])
Flags: bus master, 66MHz, fast devsel, latency 0
Bus: primary=00, secondary=02, subordinate=02, sec-latency=64
Memory behind bridge: f6100000-f61fffff
Capabilities: <access denied>

00:09.0 IDE interface: NVIDIA Corporation MCP67 AHCI Controller (rev a2) (prog-if 85 [Master SecO PriO])
Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device 30cf
Flags: bus master, 66MHz, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 23
I/O ports at 30f0 [size=8]
I/O ports at 30e4 [size=4]
I/O ports at 30e8 [size=8]
I/O ports at 30e0 [size=4]
I/O ports at 30d0 [size=16]
Memory at f6484000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=8K]
Capabilities: <access denied>
Kernel driver in use: ahci

00:0a.0 Ethernet controller: NVIDIA Corporation MCP67 Ethernet (rev a2)
Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device 30cf
Flags: bus master, 66MHz, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 42
Memory at f6488000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4K]
I/O ports at 30f8 [size=8]
Memory at f6489c00 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=256]
Memory at f6489800 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16]
Capabilities: <access denied>
Kernel driver in use: forcedeth
Kernel modules: forcedeth

00:0c.0 PCI bridge: NVIDIA Corporation MCP67 PCI Express Bridge (rev a2) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0
Bus: primary=00, secondary=04, subordinate=05, sec-latency=0
I/O behind bridge: 00004000-00004fff
Memory behind bridge: f2000000-f3ffffff
Prefetchable memory behind bridge: 00000000f0000000-00000000f1ffffff
Capabilities: <access denied>
Kernel driver in use: pcieport
Kernel modules: shpchp

00:0d.0 PCI bridge: NVIDIA Corporation MCP67 PCI Express Bridge (rev a2) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0
Bus: primary=00, secondary=03, subordinate=03, sec-latency=0
Memory behind bridge: f6000000-f60fffff
Capabilities: <access denied>
Kernel driver in use: pcieport
Kernel modules: shpchp

00:12.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation C67 [GeForce 7150M / nForce 630M] (rev a2) (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])
Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device 30cf
Flags: bus master, 66MHz, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 16
Memory at f5000000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16M]
Memory at d0000000 (64-bit, prefetchable) [size=256M]
Memory at f4000000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16M]
[virtual] Expansion ROM at f6280000 [disabled] [size=128K]
Capabilities: <access denied>
Kernel driver in use: nouveau
Kernel modules: nouveau, nvidiafb

00:18.0 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] HyperTransport Technology Configuration
Flags: fast devsel
Capabilities: <access denied>

00:18.1 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] Address Map
Flags: fast devsel

00:18.2 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] DRAM Controller
Flags: fast devsel

00:18.3 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] Miscellaneous Control
Flags: fast devsel
Capabilities: <access denied>
Kernel driver in use: k8temp
Kernel modules: k8temp

02:05.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Ricoh Co Ltd R5C832 IEEE 1394 Controller (rev 05) (prog-if 10 [OHCI])
Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device 30cf
Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 64, IRQ 5
Memory at f6100000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=2K]
Capabilities: <access denied>
Kernel driver in use: firewire_ohci
Kernel modules: firewire-ohci

02:05.1 SD Host controller: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C822 SD/SDIO/MMC/MS/MSPro Host Adapter (rev 22)
Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device 30cf
Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 64, IRQ 7
Memory at f6100800 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=256]
Capabilities: <access denied>
Kernel driver in use: sdhci-pci
Kernel modules: sdhci-pci

02:05.2 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C592 Memory Stick Bus Host Adapter (rev 12)
Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device 30cf
Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 64, IRQ 7
Memory at f6101000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=256]
Capabilities: <access denied>
Kernel driver in use: r592
Kernel modules: r592

02:05.3 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd xD-Picture Card Controller (rev 12)
Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device 30cf
Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 64, IRQ 7
Memory at f6101400 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=256]
Capabilities: <access denied>
Kernel driver in use: r852
Kernel modules: r852

03:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4322 802.11a/b/g/n Wireless LAN Controller (rev 01)
Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device 137f
Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 19
Memory at f6000000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16K]
Capabilities: <access denied>
Kernel driver in use: wl
Kernel modules: wl, ssb

[grahammechanical]

Please put all that stuff in quote tags. I am not about to read through such a long post. And as for your first post, could you please explain what the problem now is. It is very hard to determine what the problem is. Can you load a live session? Can you install? when you re-boot after installation what happens? Try installing without ticking the box "Install third party software." You may need to change a boot parameter by adding nomodeset. It is very difficult knowing what to recommend because you are not clear on what "don't work" and "no luck" actually means.

[deadflowr]

Please put all that stuff in quote tags. I am not about to read through such a long post.

Fixed.
For future reference on code tags look at this post
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2171721&p=12776168#post12776168

[Mrnumber3isme]

I apologize for the lack of clarity. I AM able to run a live session of various distributions (I have yet to find one that will not work live) and I am able to install. Install seems fine until reboot. after reboot, after BIOS, almost a minute or two of black screen, then

warning! /dev/disk/by-uuid XXXX does not exist!

I tried Xubuntu last night, and got the same result.
I have not tried installing with the "Install third party software" box left unchecked. I'll try that in a few minutes.
Thank you guys for your help so far

[Mrnumber3isme]

Okay. After trying to install with that box left unchecked, now, after reboot, I am greeted by a black screen with the little text cursor flashing in the top left. I waited there for at least 5 minutes before becoming impatient, and hitting random keys on the keyboard. num lock, caps lock, and scroll lock do not light up. ctrl+alt+del doesn't reboot.

I tried holding shift to access grub, then edited boot option by adding nomodeset. it made no difference. The screen was still black with the text cursor blinking maddeningly.

[Mrnumber3isme]

I'm trying to download Xubuntu directly through unetbootin now. I'm not hopeful this will work, but I believe in being thorough. Here goes.

[Mrnumber3isme]

Okay. trying that method didn't even allow me to install. after every step, it gave me a warning saying that particular module could not be loaded, and did I want to try again, or skip. Yeah.

[Mrnumber3isme]

I tried Linux Mint 17 last night, which is based off Ubuntu 14.04, and also recieved the

Warning! /dev/disk/by-uuidXXXX does not exist!
error. Given this many times recieving the same problem, I am led to believe only three possible causes exist.
1.) My computer is dying (A possibility, as the machine isn't exactly new.)
2.) Ubuntu 14.04 (and it's derivatives) will not work out of the box on my computer
3.) Ubuntu 14.04 (and it's derivatives) have lost the ability to be installed via USB.

[Mrnumber3isme]

UPDATE: I've managed to install 12.04 by sticking my hard drive into a friend's computer, and now my drive is back in my machine, and all is running well. I'm about to attempt the online upgrade to 14.04. Wish me luck

[Mrnumber3isme]

I did the online upgrade 3 days ago, and all is well. I know what I've done to correct the issue may not help too many people though, so for the time being, I'll leave this thread "Unsolved" if anyone has any ideas that may help others.